The Family and Background of the Duchess of Cambridge, the Middletons 1, Until 2022

[Princess of Durham]

Interesting how James looks so much like his Uncle Gary around the eyes .... at least to me.

 

[Dman]

Interesting how James looks so much like his Uncle Gary around the eyes .... at least to me.

I see George V and Nicholas II.

 

[Lumutqueen]

I see George V and Nicholas II.

That would be the beard, and the beard alone.

James has hit a low if he's hanging out with Spencer Matthews.

 

[CryingDiamonds]

Lineage?

I visited Hampton Court Palace this past Bank Holiday and there was a very long, very empty wood paneled corridor that people weren't taking much notice of.
Here hung the Windsor Beauties! The beauties of the court of Charles II as painted by Sir Peter Lely.

One of the ladies there I noticed was identified as Jane Myddleton, she was a favourite at court and an absolute beauty apparently.

I was just wondering if anyone knew if there was a Royal connection between Jane and the Duchess of Cambridge?

Would be rather fascinating..

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Can anyone help me. There is a new story out criticizing Carole and saying she is moving in with Kate for a time. I was wondering if those in the know and who have been watching g the situation for a long time can tell me why certain aspects of the British Media hate Carole so much? What has she done that is so horrible that she is constantly painted as a wicked witCh who ensnared Prince William through Kate?

 

[Princess of Durham]

If you noticed the Daily Fail also had a positive article about Michael Middleton. I truly think it is the DM trying to stir up "class" unpleasantness. Along with that the fact that they also intimated that there were problems in the Middleton marriage because of it is just truly nasty. I would really love to see the "pedigree" of some of these people at the DM who are so consumed in stirring up trouble. It is my opinion that they are highly annoyed that William has this close supportive relationship. It is also my opinion that 99% of what they report is pure fantasy.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Can anyone help me. There is a new story out criticizing Carole and saying she is moving in with Kate for a time. I was wondering if those in the know and who have been watching g the situation for a long time can tell me why certain aspects of the British Media hate Carole so much? What has she done that is so horrible that she is constantly painted as a wicked witCh who ensnared Prince William through Kate?

Carole Middleton unfortunately is the air hostess trolley dolley who forced her daughter to go to St. Andrews so she'd be in with a shot of marrying William. She has constantly been portrayed as the pushy mother-in-law, who often gets accused of cashing in.

There is no reason for it, she has never shown anything except loving and warmth but then I don't know the woman personally.

 

[mslewis]

Can anyone help me. There is a new story out criticizing Carole and saying she is moving in with Kate for a time. I was wondering if those in the know and who have been watching g the situation for a long time can tell me why certain aspects of the British Media hate Carole so much? What has she done that is so horrible that she is constantly painted as a wicked witCh who ensnared Prince William through Kate?

First of all, you need to stop reading the Daily Fail. If you insist on continuing to read it, don't believe ANYTHING THEY SAY!! Otherwise, you will lose your mind. I have no idea why the DM insists on making up these ridiculous stories about Carole Middleton. I can only imagine that the readership of this rag want to believe that she is an awful person. Well, if she was an awful person she would not have three apparently well-adjusted children, including a daughter completed loved by a future King who also adores HER.

 

[Isabella]

Carole Middleton unfortunately is the air hostess trolley dolley who forced her daughter to go to St. Andrews so she'd be in with a shot of marrying William. She has constantly been portrayed as the pushy mother-in-law, who often gets accused of cashing in.

There is no reason for it, she has never shown anything except loving and warmth but then I don't know the woman personally.

Indeed, sadly Carole has been cast in a negative light for quite a while now, and I think it's easy for the media to just keep her as a punching bag.

If I were to look for any reason for it, I'd say it's just an attempt to tap into social class issues. The future king married someone from the middle class, which is bound to ruffle a few feathers and perhaps cause some jealousy (either from upper-class folks, who might think Kate isn't from the right background, or from other middle-class people, who might be jealous of the Middletons family's social mobility). And, rather than casting Kate in a bad light, the place the "blame" on Carole for intentionally setting up Kate to be in a position where she could meet and marry William. It's a typical easy, lazy caricature for the media to fall back on, especially as some people like a bit of negativity. (And, yes, I realize I'm making a lot of generalizations, but only because I think that's exactly what the media is doing. I have nothing against Carole. Frankly, I really don't know much about her other than the media's spin).

 

[Dman]

All of the above...

You would think the media would be happy that William has a very close, loving and supportive relationship with his in-laws. You can't say that about the Prince of Wales back then and now. It's just a snobbish attitude some members of the media has taken on for the Middleton's.

A future King and Queen needs all the love and support from their family!

 

[Rudolph]

The upper-classes and nobility have been marrying into the middle-class for years. The resentment against the Middletons comes from the people they 'left behind'.

Social mobility has been accepted by the nobility for a long time, its Carole's own middle-class peers that resent her success. For not knowing her place.

 

[AdmirerUS]

Indeed, sadly Carole has been cast in a negative light for quite a while now, and I think it's easy for the media to just keep her as a punching bag.

If I were to look for any reason for it, I'd say it's just an attempt to tap into social class issues. The future king married someone from the middle class, which is bound to ruffle a few feathers and perhaps cause some jealousy (either from upper-class folks, who might think Kate isn't from the right background, or from other middle-class people, who might be jealous of the Middletons family's social mobility). And, rather than casting Kate in a bad light, the place the "blame" on Carole for intentionally setting up Kate to be in a position where she could meet and marry William. It's a typical easy, lazy caricature for the media to fall back on, especially as some people like a bit of negativity. (And, yes, I realize I'm making a lot of generalizations, but only because I think that's exactly what the media is doing. I have nothing against Carole. Frankly, I really don't know much about her other than the media's spin).

I just imagine being a member of the Middleton family and having to put up with the invented press. Imagine being her brother whose beard and dog walking invite speculation (and how very uninteresting beards and dog-walking a are). Imagine being her sister who pays a huge price for her suddenly famous bum She herself wrote about how surreal that was. And I think she is smart enough to know that people who love you for your bum will hate you for everything else.

I think post wedding Carole and Mike have worked very hard to NOT be the story. I think they have been very classy. In fact, Party Pieces is not getting much press at all.

 

[janjan]

According to an article I read I think it was in Hello Canada It was that kate mom is busy moving in and running the whole place like she is the queen mom Kate dad isn't very comfortable and want carole to leave the kids alone and let thme get on with there life with no help from her It sounds from the article that William and kate are afraid to tell her off .

 

[Dman]

The upper-classes and nobility have been marrying into the middle-class for years. The resentment against the Middletons comes from the people they 'left behind'.

Social mobility has been accepted by the nobility for a long time, its Carole's own middle-class peers that resent her success. For not knowing her place.

The Middleton's good fortune is what us Americans call The American Dream!

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

According to an article I read I think it was in Hello Canada It was that kate mom is busy moving in and running the whole place like she is the queen mom Kate dad isn't very comfortable and want carole to leave the kids alone and let thme get on with there life with no help from her It sounds from the article that William and kate are afraid to tell her off .

I wouldn't believe whatever is coming out of the gossip mags. If Carole was overstepping the mark, Kate and William would tell her so. They aren't young impressionable teenagers, they are in their 30's. The only reason why the mags are making up these stories is because the Middleton's are protecting their own. They provide William and Kate with support, stability and love.

Also, anyone believing Carole orchestrated Kate to marry William needs their head read!

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

The Middleton's good fortune is what us Americans call The American Dream!

Thats one of the reasons I don't like how Carole is treated And I wonder if its just a culture clash on my part. In America the Middleton's would be admired and someone to emulate; but in England there appears to be this idea that she doesn't know her place and if you are born middle class you stay there. I am not trying to criticize England and I don't know if this is thr majority or a very vocal minority who portrays this image. All I see is a very beautiful hard working woman with a good marriage and 3 well adjusted kids who all seem to love her.
On top of how Carole is painted, in documentaries and specials on Kate they always talk about her maternal ancestry and rarely discuss her paternal ancestry, continuously wanting to paint her as some working class girl descended from coal miners and ignoring she is also descended from lawyers and businessmen.
I have no idea if it's aristocrats who hate the Middleton's or fellow middle class folk like the rest of us. There are not many documentaries or books I can find on Mette Marit, Mary, Daniel or even Queen Silvia....so I don't know if other middle class royal partners have been treated the same way as Kate and her family.

 

[Isabella]

Thats one of the reasons I don't like how Carole is treated And I wonder if its just a culture clash on my part. In America the Middleton's would be admired and someone to emulate; but in England there appears to be this idea that she doesn't know her place and if you are born middle class you stay there. I am not trying to criticize England and I don't know if this is thr majority or a very vocal minority who portrays this image. All I see is a very beautiful hard working woman with a good marriage and 3 well adjusted kids who all seem to love her.
On top of how Carole is painted, in documentaries and specials on Kate they always talk about her maternal ancestry and rarely discuss her paternal ancestry, continuously wanting to paint her as some working class girl descended from coal miners and ignoring she is also descended from lawyers and businessmen.
I have no idea if it's aristocrats who hate the Middleton's or fellow middle class folk like the rest of us. There are not many documentaries or books I can find on Mette Marit, Mary, Daniel or even Queen Silvia....so I don't know if other middle class royal partners have been treated the same way as Kate and her family.

Yes, social class and particularly social class mobility are certainly, on the whole, perceived differently in the UK than in the US (though, in both countries, it's an ever-evolving issue and is perceived differently by different people). I will say, though, that I think the media really stokes a lot of the class issues in the UK, because when I lived there, it wasn't really something that came up that often among people I actually knew (but I was at university, so maybe it just wasn't at the forefront of people's minds). It's when I'm reading articles in the press that I most note the way class is handled differently in the UK. That's just my experience, though.

 

[Princess of Durham]

My daughter did her "junior year abroad" when she was in University in the late 80s. She did it at an unnamed English University. At that time she was very much struck by the class issues. They were very much an issue among the students that she knew at that time. I think the newspapers have continued to use the class issues to sell papers. There will always be people who are not as successful as others and papers like the Daily Fail seem to cultivate the negative feelings that can go along with that. I also think historically political parties in the UK have played up the issue to their own advantage. Pure and simple it sells papers to keep people stirred up and also gets some politicians votes.

I recall early on that Carole Middleton was quoted (supposedly) as saying that she realized that she was the "weak link." I recall feeling so very sorry that she felt that way.

 

[Isabella]

My daughter did her "junior year abroad" when she was in University in the late 80s. She did it at an unnamed English University. At that time she was very much struck by the class issues. They were very much an issue among the students that she knew at that time. I think the newspapers have continued to use the class issues to sell papers. There will always be people who are not as successful as others and papers like the Daily Fail seem to cultivate the negative feelings that can go along with that. I also think historically political parties in the UK have played up the issue to their own advantage. Pure and simple it sells papers to keep people stirred up and also gets some politicians votes.

I recall early on that Carole Middleton was quoted (supposedly) as saying that she realized that she was the "weak link." I recall feeling so very sorry that she felt that way.

What you say makes a lot of sense to me. My time spent living in the UK was within the past few years and, as I said, class issues didn't really come up (which was interesting, because the student body at the English university I attended was much more socio-economically diverse than the university I attended in the US). However, I'm certainly under the impression that that's been something that's evolving in the UK, because there seems to be more acceptance of upward mobility now than there used to be. But yes, definitely I think the papers try to keep things divisive, and politics plays a role in that too (in large part because many of the UK papers - and especially the tabloids, which have the highest circulation among papers in Britain - are extremely, unabashedly partisan.) I don't find it totally surprising that class gets discussed in terms of the royals; in fact, that's where I'd expect to hear it the most. But certainly it's interesting to see how it manifests itself in politics, etc., and for me that's when I've noticed cultural divisions the most.

 

[Sun Lion]

Two bi-monthly upmarket magazines - with a combined circulation of around two hundred thousand - will now be having contributions from Mrs Middleton.

Luxury magazines "Baby London" and "Little London" will feature articles written, without a fee, by Carole, who will be giving party-planning tips.

The first article, about having an outdoor party, has already been published and is in the current issue of "Little London".

 

[Curryong]

So Carole has decided to offer her expertise in two magazines. Why? It wouldn't have anything to do with indirectly promoting Party Pieces, would it? This leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth, quite frankly, and I don't care whether she's being paid or not.

 

[soapstar]

I don't see the harm with her writing articles about party planning. It is her business. Plus, why shouldn't she be allowed to promote Party Pieces?

 

[HRHHermione]

So Carole has decided to offer her expertise in two magazines. Why? It wouldn't have anything to do with indirectly promoting Party Pieces, would it? This leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth, quite frankly, and I don't care whether she's being paid or not.

Why? She owns a business and has been pretty careful about how she promotes it. Should she be barred from the kind of legal business promotion that others do simply because of who her daughter married?

I guarantee the articles will be incredibly innocuous.


Sent from my iPhone using The Royals Community mobile app

 

[Curryong]

Because pushing family commercial interests (selling party equipment etc) reflects on the Cambridges. It would be a bit like Diana's father Earl Spencer writing regular columns in a popular travel magazine about Althorp and its attractions, in an effort to bring in tourist dollars in the 1980's. I can just imagine Charles's reaction.

 

[HRHHermione]

Because pushing family commercial interests (selling party equipment etc) reflects on the Cambridges. It would be a bit like Diana's father Earl Spencer writing regular columns in a popular travel magazine about Althorp and its attractions, in an effort to bring in tourist dollars. I can just imagine Charles's reaction.

Um, except that Earl Spencer was a man of massive inherited wealth, not the proprietor of a successful commercial business interest.

This is how they make their living. It's their family business. Should they let their business fade away and not market it or promote it, simply because their daughter married into the royal family? What's their alternative?

There's no winning there. If they stopped running their business and depended on the royal family to support them, the press would be brutal.

What do you suggest these people do to support themselves financially that offends no one?

 

[camelot23ca]

The Middletons have come in for some rough and unfair treatment over the last few years and I do think a lot of it is class related, (as well as more than a little plain old envy).

A member of the last generation of royal in laws stood up and publicly insulted his nephews' family AT THEIR MOTHER'S FUNERAL! So I guess the argument could be made there was nowhere to go but up, but IMO The Queen probably thanks god every day her grandson married into a stable family that worked hard and produced well brought up, non histrionic children. Even Uncle Gary must seem pretty harmless!

 

[soapstar]

Because pushing family commercial interests (selling party equipment etc) reflects on the Cambridges. It would be a bit like Diana's father Earl Spencer writing regular columns in a popular travel magazine about Althorp and its attractions, in an effort to bring in tourist dollars in the 1980's. I can just imagine Charles's reaction.

I doubt Prince Charles will care. After all, he's selling royal baby items (cups and plates) on the Highgrove website. Not to mention, quite a few of his relatives have written books, or appeared on tv to promote their businesses. So taking the Middletons to task would be a bit hypocritical of him.

 

[HRHHermione]

The Middletons have come in for some rough and unfair treatment over the last few years and I do think a lot of it is class related, (as well as more than a little plain old envy).

A member of the last generation of royal in laws stood up and publicly insulted his nephews' family AT THEIR MOTHER'S FUNERAL! So I guess the argument could be made there was nowhere to go but up, but IMO The Queen probably thanks god every day her grandson married into a stable family that worked hard and produced well brought up, non histrionic children. Even Uncle Gary must seem pretty harmless!

Completely... especially when you factor in Barbara Cartland and Raine Spencer. There have long been people around the royal family with far more questionable taste than the Middletons, who have been incredibly discreet and have managed to avoid putting a foot wrong. They can't win over everyone- but they don't seem to need to. They stay discreet, they run their business, and they enjoy their family.

 

[Curryong]

Writing articles in two magazines is hardly being discreet!

Plus, there are a lot of peers who inherited massive wealth who still promote their stately homes. Earl Spencer didn't.

 

[HRHHermione]

Writing articles in two magazines is hardly being discreet!

Plus, there are a lot of peers who inherited massive wealth who still promote their stately homes. Earl Spencer didn't.

Earl Spencer didn't have to! He was born into a life of massive inherited wealth and had little to no obligation to support himself and his family- it was taken care of for him. Even still, he and his second wife controversially sold off a lot of family treasures to fund a restoration of Althorp that was not well received. There was bad press about it at the time, you can read about it. (And the current Earl has done a LOT of promotion based on his late sister.)

Carole's writing topical articles about her business for relevant publications. She's not sharing royal family gossip. You're making a mountain out of a molehill, and it's coming off as fairly classist.